Aman Jain Ethics Short Notes and Links
Aman Jain Ethics Short Notes and Links
Aman Jain Ethics Short Notes and Links
Syllabus
Ethics at the Workplace & Corporate Gov:
1. Meaning of ethics.
2. Why ethical problems occur in business.
Theories of ethics:
3. Utilitarianism:
3.1. weighing social cost and benefits,
3.2. rights and duties,
3.3. Justice and fairness,
3.4. ethics of care,
3.5.integrating utility, rights, justice and caring,
🔹 E thics is a conception of right and wrong behavior, defining for us when our actions
are moral & when they are immoral.
🔹standards
Ethics is the discipline that examines ones moral standards or the moral
of a society.
🔹andIt conduct.
is that branch of philosophy which is concerned with human character
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🔹welfare
Personal gain: People will be sometimes greedy and put down their own
ahead of all others, not bothered about the welfare of the fellow
employees, the company or society. this will cause ethical problems.
🔹a company
Clash of personal values and organizational goals:
if it pursues goals or uses methods that are not acceptable to some of
its employees will create ethical conflicts in business.
🔹 Competitive pressures:
when companies compete for a similar product , they sometimes engage in
unethical activities in order to wipe out a competitor from the market.
🔹ethical
Cross cultural contradictions:
problems occur when certain corporations cannot do business at home,
would try to enter other societies where ethical standards differ.
3. Utilitarianism (एक नैतिक सिद्धांत)
(Weighing Social Costs And Benefits):
🔸policies
Utilitarianism is a general term for any view that holds that actions and
should be evaluated on the basis of the benefits and costs they will
impose on society.
🔸benefits
The right action or policy is the one that will produce the greatest net
or the lowest net costs (when all alternatives have only net costs).
🔸somehow
The principle assumes that all the benefits and costs of an action can be
measured and thereby determine which action produces the greatest
total benefits or the lowest total costs.
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🔸exercised
Rights and duties are correlated terms i.e without right ,duty cannot be
and without duty,the right cannot be observed.
🔸provided
For e.g if I have a right to an education, then I have a justified claim to be
with an education by society.
🔸system
Legal Rights: are limited to a particular jurisdiction within which the legal
is in force.
🔸human
Moral rights: are based on moral norms and principles that specify that all
beings are permitted /empowered to do something or are entitled to have
something done for them.
🔸to doNegative rights such as the right to privacy, the right not be killed or the right
what one wants with ones property are rights that protect some form of
human freedom or liberty. Negative rights imposes a negative duty on all others –
the
duty not to interfere in certain activities of the person who holds a given right.
🔸dutyPositive
of
rights are positive in the sense that some agents have the positive
providing the holder of the right with whatever he or she needs to freely pursue
his or her interests.
Advocated by Immanuel Kant and lock: ethical decisions should protect
the legal and moral rights that an individual is entitled to.
🔸justice,
Justice theories advocate that all persons should be guided by fairness,
equity,and by a sense of impartiality.
🔸equal
Justice is the philosophy used in making ethical decisions to ensure the
distribution of benefits and burdens.
🔸rulesA justice decision is one that is fair , impartial, reasonable in the light of the
that apply to the situation.
🔸kindsKinds of justice: The Ancient Greek Philosopher Aristotle distinguished three
of justice
(1) Distributive Justice,
(2) Compensatory Justice,
(3) Retributive Justice.
ETHICS OF CARE
Caring for others is the corner stone of good ethical practice.
🔸persons
This is the ethics that deals with caring for the concrete wellbeing of those
who are near to us.
🔸particular
The view that we have an obligation to exercise special care towards those
persons With whom we have valuable close relationships, particularly
relations of dependency is a key concept in an ethics of care.’
🔸attain
Utilitarian standards must be used when we do not have the resources to
every ones objectives so we are forced to consider the net social benefits
and social costs consequent on the actions by which we can attain the objectives.
🔸individuals
Our moral judgments are also partially based on standards that specify how
must be treated or respected. These policies will substantially affect
the welfare and freedom of specifiable individuals.
→ Moral reasoning of this type forces consideration of whether the behavior
respects the basic rights of the individuals involved and whether the behavior is
consistent with one’s agreements and special duties.
🔸benefits
Our moral judgments are also based on standards of justice that indicate how
and burdens should be distributed among the members of a group.
These sorts of standards must be employed when evaluating action whose
distributive effects differ.
→ The moral reasoning on which such judgments are based will incorporate
considerations concerning whether the behavior distributes benefits and
burdens equally or in accordance with the needs,abilities,as well as extent of
their wrong doing.
🔸→ Standards
Our moral judgments are also based on standards of caring .
of caring are essential when moral questions arise that involve
persons embedded in a web of relationships ,particularly persons with whom
one has close relationships.
🔸person
This theory holds that Ethics should develop character traits or virtues in a
so that person will do what is morally right.
🔸action.
Aristotle defines Virtue as a character trait that manifests itself in habitual
→Honesty for e.g. cannot consist in telling the truth once,It is trait of a person
who tells the truth as a general practice.
→A virtue is something we admire in a person;
→A Virtue is an excellence of some kind that is worth having its own sake
honesty is a trait that everyone needs for good life.
🔸herVirtues are those traits that everyone needs for the good ones no matter his or
specific situation.
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TELEOLOGICAL THEORY
🔸theory.
Greek philosophers, in particular Aristotle, popularized the teleological
🔸Thus,
Teleology is derived from telos which means the end or consequences.
the theory of consequentialism is directly associated with the teleological
theory.
🔸other
At the one extreme of the teleological theme, there may be egoism and at the
extreme, there is utilitarianism as suggested by Bentham and J.S. Mill.
🔸choose
Utilitarianism provides a criterion for the concrete decision-making process to
an action or policy.
🔸individual
"Egoism" which is a form of teleology accepts any decision which produces
gain or benefit.
→These benefits include pleasure, power, name and fame.
→An egoist will choose a situation which will increase his personal gain or
satisfy his ego.
→The basis of egoism is self-interest. Many people are of the opinion that an
egoistic person or organization is governed by self-interest.
→They will go to any extent to maximize their gains and objective functions.
→They are short-sighted and unethical in principle.
→However, there is another variety of egoism known as enlightened egoism
which is socially better than pure egoism.
→ Enlightened egoism takes into account a long-run perspective and also allows
for the welfare of people and society, but in every case, the self-interest remains
the primary consideration.
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🔸standards
ER believes that the only criteria for judging right and wrong are the local
and practices. Such a standard of judgment is too constricted.
🔸fundamental
ER tends to believe that the moral standards of a particular society are the
basis of judging it or for subsequent policy actions.
🔸others.
If injustice prevails in a particular country, it should not be the yardstick for
For instance, the argument that the Indian caste system is good because it
is steeped in tradition and hence should be emulated elsewhere, is objectionable.
🔸standards
ER does not lay emphasis on the universal moral standard. In fact, some moral
are unchanged, & live on.
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🔸Business
What Is Business Ethics?
ethics is the application of the principles of ethics in the realm of
business, trade and commerce.
🔸Business
Why Business Ethics?
ethics is necessary to uphold the interests of consumers, shareholders,
workers, suppliers, distributors and investors.
Business ethics is necessary to remind the business firm that it is the moral duty
of the firm as a part of society to undertake some social responsibilities.
Ethics in Compliance
Ethics means doing what is right regardless of what the law says
It’s entirely possible to be ethical without being compliant. Ethics is proactive, rather than
reactive as compliance is. Our personal values system, including our character, values and
core principles, guide us when we make decisions.
Ethical Issues In FINANCE And A/Cing
🔺
Unethical Financial Practices
🔺🔺
company cooks the financial data and manipulates them to suit the requirements.
share prices are artificially raised.
Insider Trading:- People having inside information buy most of the shares of a
🔺🔺
company when the conditions are very favourable
Merger of companies may be a financial stunt.
companies open accounts in different banks to avoid taxes.
Products: These are not always safe and harmless. They may be adulterated,
qualitatively poor and may contain some substances whose effect on health may
be dangerous.
Pricing: Dealers and manufacturers often charge either too high (skimming or
gouging) or too low (predatory or penetrating) pricing. There are many methods
of price fixation.
Packaging: Does not often mention the safety instruction or level and no expiry
date. Packaging may be done with harmful materials like plastics.
🔸collectively
Section 2(6) of the Indian Companies Act 1956 states that directors are
referred to as “Board of Directors” or simply the “Board"
ROLE OF BOARD
🔸The Board should meet regularly, retain full and effective control over the company and
monitor the executive management.
🔸BODs should monitor corporate performance against strategic business plans, take proper
measures at the proper time.
MCQ
Ethics are most effective when perceived by employees to be “values-driven,” rather than simply
compliance-driven and values-based programs are most effective in reducing unethical behavior,
strengthening employee commitment and making employees more willing to deliver bad news to
managers.
2.) Secure Visible Commitment From Senior Managers.
Senior managers should participate in training sessions, make ethics a regular element in
speeches and presentations, and align their own behavior with company standards.
Engage directors in the ethics process by instituting a board ethics committee or by placing ethics
on the board agenda as a regular item for discussion.
Comprehensive codes are aligned with company values and all applicable laws.
5.) Build Ethics Into Mission and Vision Statements
Many companies build ethical values and goals into their mission and/or vision statements.
A code of ethics also referred to as an "ethical code," may encompass areas such as business
ethics, a code of professional practice and an employee code of conduct.
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Code of conduct
A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper
practices of an individual party or an organisation.
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Whistle Blowing
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Descriptive Questions
Ans.
Values are essential components of organisational culture and are instrumental in
determining, guiding and informing behaviour. For government officials adherence to high-
level public service values can generate substantial public trust and confidence. Some basic,
universal values include:
1. Integrity and Honesty: Integrity is putting the obligations of Organization's service above
your own personal interests. Grade B officers should be guided solely by public interest in their
official decision making and not by any financial or other consideration either in respect of
themselves, their families or their friends.
2. Objectivity, Impartiality and Political Neutrality: While they are carrying out their official
work, including functions like procurement, recruitment, delivery of their services etc. He/She
should take decisions based on merit and free from any partisan/political consideration.
2. Distinguish between “Code of ethics” and “Code of conduct” with suitable examples.
Code of Ethics
Such a code contains a declaration of values for the officers, reflecting public expectations and
the relationship between the Officer and his Organisation.
Approach
References
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